French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Greenland today in what officials describe as a clear message of European unity and resolve, following repeated threats by US President Donald Trump to take control of the island.
The visit, which includes stops in Nuuk and EU-funded infrastructure sites, marks the first by a foreign leader since Trump’s annexation rhetoric escalated earlier this year.
Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, has found itself at the centre of an intensifying geopolitical contest. Trump has publicly expressed his intention to acquire the mineral-rich Arctic island, citing US security interests and, more recently, refusing to rule out the use of force. In response, Macron’s visit has been cast by French officials as a non-verbal but deliberate gesture of deterrence.
“The trip is a signal in itself,” said one of Macron’s advisers in a background briefing, adding that there would be no direct public address to the United States, but that the symbolism of the visit was intentional.
The French President was invited by Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen. Speaking ahead of the visit, Nielsen wrote on Facebook: “France has stood by us since the first statements about taking our land emerged. This support is both necessary and gratifying.”
Macron’s arrival in Nuuk was met with subdued ceremony but heavy political significance. The French President will hold meetings on Arctic security, climate change, and economic development, including a site visit to a glacier and an EU-funded hydropower station. Officials confirmed that the talks would also cover expanding Greenland’s association agreement with the European Union, despite the territory’s status outside the bloc.
The backdrop to the visit includes mounting tensions between Copenhagen and Washington. Following Vice President JD Vance’s March visit to the US military’s Pituffik Space Base, American defence officials have made increasingly assertive statements about Greenland. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress last week that contingency plans for taking the island by force were under review. In response, Denmark has adopted a more active security posture, approving $1.5 billion in additional defence spending and authorising further US troop deployments on Danish territory.
Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen has also made multiple visits to Paris in recent months, seeking French and wider EU backing. As part of this deepening defence relationship, Copenhagen has placed orders for French-made surface-to-air missile systems.
According to Florian Vidal, a researcher at the Paris-based French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), this shift reflects Denmark’s reassessment of its long-standing reliance on the US for Arctic defence. “The Trump administration’s more aggressive posture is a shock that makes the French vision of Europe – one that is more autonomous – appear more reasonable for Denmark,” he said. “From a Nordic point of view, France is a military power that counts.”
Public opinion in France appears broadly supportive of Macron’s position. A poll conducted by IFOP for NYC.eu and released on Saturday found that 77% of French respondents disapproved of a US annexation of Greenland. Notably, 43% said they would support the use of French military power to prevent such a move. In the United States, 56% of respondents expressed disapproval of annexation plans.
In Nuuk, the visit was received as both a diplomatic first and a strategic affirmation. “We’ve never had a visit from a president like this before,” said local official Kaj Kleist. “It sends a message, to the Americans and to the world, that Greenland is not to be taken lightly.”
That message has found broad resonance across the political spectrum in Greenland, though not without internal debate. Opposition leader Pele Broberg welcomed the international attention but expressed reservations about the framing. “We welcome any world leader, anytime,” he said. “But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like a visit for Greenland this time. It looks like a visit for Denmark.”
Nonetheless, French officials emphasise that Macron’s engagement with Greenlandic leadership is substantive. Discussions will include EU investment in critical minerals, notably graphite, essential for battery production. The European Union signed a major supply deal with Greenland earlier this month as part of its broader effort to reduce reliance on Chinese sources.
While France is the EU’s only nuclear power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Macron’s Arctic diplomacy is part of a wider European effort to project strategic coherence in the North Atlantic. Last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen inaugurated a permanent EU office in Nuuk, reinforcing the bloc’s long-term interests in the region.
As global competition for Arctic access intensifies – driven by military positioning, climate change, and critical resource demand – Macron’s visit underscores a growing consensus within Europe that strategic autonomy must be translated into action.
For Greenland, the arrival of the French President is both historic and clarifying. As Arnakkuluk Jo Kleist, a Greenlandic commentator, put it: “He’s not just the president of France. He’s a representative of a Europe that is saying clearly: Greenland is not for sale.”
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